


By Any Other Name

by hlravensnest_archivist



Category: Highlander: The Raven
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-12-31
Updated: 2006-12-31
Packaged: 2018-12-16 22:00:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11837874
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hlravensnest_archivist/pseuds/hlravensnest_archivist
Summary: Note from Daire, the archivist: this story was originally archived atHL Raven's Nest. Deciding to give the stories a more long-term home, I began importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in August 2017. I e-mailed all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact me using the e-mail address onHL Raven's Nest's collection profile.





	By Any Other Name

**Author's Note:**

> Note from Daire, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [HL Raven's Nest](http://fanlore.org/wiki/HL_Raven%27s_Nest). Deciding to give the stories a more long-term home, I began importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in August 2017. I e-mailed all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact me using the e-mail address on [HL Raven's Nest's collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/hlravensnest/profile).

By Any Other Name by RSSacchi

  
  
  


_By Any Other Name_

By RSS 

* * *

It's 11:00 AM when Nick knocks on the door of Amanda's suite. A robe clad Amanda opens the door. "Nick, why are you waking me up this hour of the morning?" 

"It's 11 o'clock." 

"The operative word is 'morning'." 

"Do you know a Francoise Leblanc?" 

"Francoise Leblanc, no, should I?" 

"According to her records she was born in Rouen on May 25, 1972. Another child of the same name was born in Rouen on the same day. That child died on June 1." 

"That is a common Immortal MO. Who did she kill?" 

"No one. At least no one I know about. Some unexplained payments went from our client's company to a number of dummy companies." 

"And she made out the checks." 

"No, the dummy companies all belong to Francoise Leblanc. There's obviously an inside man, or woman, but we're not sure who." 

"So you want me to get ready and come with you to see Francoise Leblanc?" 

"You got it." 

* * *

Amanda and Nick drive to a large house. They sense another Immortal when they are a few steps from the door when it bursts open. 

"Amanda! Come in!" 

It's Nadja; a pretty woman with a cute figure. She's standing in the doorway, a diamond toe ring on each bare foot, a diamond ankle bracelet on her right foot and a diamond calf bracelet on her left leg. She is wearing a knee length split skirt. Her blouse reveals her naval and a diamond body piercing. She has diamond bracelets, three diamond rings, a diamond necklace and matching earrings. 

"Nadja, darling! It's so good to see you; you seem to be doing well." _She may as well have a sign on her that reads "Arrest me!"_

"Yes, I am and so do you." Nadja looks to Nick. "This is Nick, Nick this is Nadja." 

They step inside. 

"Would you like a glass of wine?" 

"Of course, darling." 

"No, thank you." 

"Well let me see if I can find something in the wine cellar that can change your mind." Nadja walks down to the wine cellar. 

Amanda turns to Nick. "We don't even know if it's her. I've known her for a long time; I was her teacher." 

"That makes her look even more guilty." 

"She might not even be Francoise Leblanc." 

"We both know she is." 

* * *

**CARPATHIA, 1372**

Amanda is with a king in his command tent, from which he can view the course the battle. It goes well for him since a turncoat gave him valuable information about the enemy. A group of soldiers ride to the tent, a finely dressed woman with them. 

"Sire, we have captured the princess." 

They present the woman to the king. The woman is an Immortal who hasn't had her first death. The turncoat takes a close look at the woman. 

"This is not the princess." 

"Are you sure?" 

"Yes sire, I am sure." 

The king grabs hold of the woman. "Where did you get these clothes and jewels?" 

"A woman gave them to me." 

The king takes out a dagger and rams it into the woman's belly. The woman moans and gasps before the king throws her off the cliff. 

"I was impetuous. I should have given her to my men." 

The king questions his men about where they found her. Amanda slips away and makes her way down the cliff. 

* * *

Amanda carefully climbs down the cliff. She spots the woman, who is still dead. Amanda takes the woman's jewels for safekeeping. The woman comes back to life and at first moans. 

"The pain will go away soon. You are alive." 

The woman looks confused. She scrambles away from Amanda. 

"Do not be afraid." 

"How could you do this to me?" 

"I did nothing to you. You are an Immortal, you always were." 

The woman breathes heavily. "I heard stories of creatures like us." 

"Whatever you heard is probably wrong. I shall teach you what you really are. What is your name?" 

"Nadja." 

"I am Amanda." 

"How did you end up posing as the princess?" 

"She, her handmaid, and some guards came to me. She gave me some clothes and some jewels to wear then a couple of guards escorted me away." 

* * *

**PRESENT TIME**

Nadja comes up from the cellar with a bottle. "I thought Chateau Margaux 1986 would do nicely." 

"I'm sure it will." Amanda hopes Nick keeps his mouth shut long enough for her to taste the wine. 

Nadja gets three glasses and pours the wine into them. She hands a glass to Amanda and presents a glass to Nick. "Are you sure I can't temp you?" 

"No." Amanda gives Nick a nudge. "All right, thank you." 

Amanda takes a sip. "We are looking for Francoise Leblanc." 

"That's me." 

"That explains your wealth." 

"Yes, in the 90s my boyfriend and I started a dot COM. The personal relationship didn't work out but as you can see the business relationship has been doing very well." 

"What exactly is your business?" 

"To be honest all I did was put in the seed money. My partner is the brains of the operation. All I do is sign papers ... and large checks." 

Nick breaks his silence. "Who is your business partner?" 

"Raymond Constantini" 

"How can we get in touch with him?" 

"I'll get you the address. You should call for an appointment." 

Amanda smiles. "We'll be sure to do that darling." 

* * *

Amanda and Nick walk to Nick's SUV. Nick turns to Amanda. "There's no way someone can have that little curiosity." 

"Nadja belies the myth of women being curious." 

"You actually believe she doesn't know what's going on." 

"I've known her for a long time." 

* * *

**TORAGO, 1963**

Amanda looks out her window, seeing a car parked across the street with two men in the front seat. Amanda has to fence her loot from her last job, but before she can she must shake these detectives. She puts on a long black wig, takes a large handbag from her closet and steps out. 

She steps into her black Cadillac and drives off with the unmarked police car in tow. She drives across town to a bar and inside asks the bartender if they have a payphone. The bartender tells her there's one in the back and points toward the back of the bar. Amanda steps into the phone booth and calls her fence to confirm he's open for business. Then she calls Nadja. 

"Hello." 

"Hello, Nadja?" 

"Yes." 

"It's me, Amanda." 

"Oh, hi, Amanda!" 

"Nadja, how would you like to drive my Cadillac for the evening?" 

"That sounds like fun." 

"I've got someone who is going to pick me up so I need someone to see my car makes it home." 

"When are you coming?" 

"I'm at Dolly's bar on the corner of 29th Street." 

"Two blocks down from me?" 

"Yeah, come on down. I'll buy you a drink?" 

Amanda steps into the Ladies room, takes off her wig and puts it in her handbag. 

* * *

Nadja enters the bar in a clearly bargain basement dress. She makes her way to Amanda's table. Nadja has a job in the secretarial pool of a mid-sized company. 

"Have a seat Nadja. What are you having?" 

"Whatever you're having." 

Amanda steps up to the bar and gets a drink for herself and Nadja and returns to their table. "Here are my keys and registration. I'll meet you at my house this evening or tonight. Would you be a dear and take my handbag." 

"Yes, of course." 

* * *

Nadja finishes her drinks, says her good-byes and walks out of the bar. A few moments later Amanda watches by the window as Nadja drives by in the Cadillac. A moment later the unmarked police car drives by. Amanda smiles, her ruse worked. Amanda calls her fence then a cab. 

* * *

**PRESENT TIME**

Amanda sits at the bar in The Sanctuary; she is the only one in the club. Nick enters from his office and walks over to Amanda. 

"There's no proof Nadja ever met anyone named Raymond Constantini, much less had a business partnership with him. Raymond Constantini doesn't show up anywhere related to this case." 

"Absence of proof isn't proof of absence." 

"Amanda, there's enough proof here for a dozen convictions. I'm taking this to the police." 

"Why don't we go over and talk to her?" 

"And give her warning so she can skip town?" 

"Why don't we hear what she has to say then play it by ear?" 

* * *

Amanda and Nick walk to Nada's front door. Nadja flings open the door. "Amanda, Nick, I'm glad you came back. You left in such a hurry yesterday I forgot to invite you; I'm having a party here tomorrow night. You're invited to come." 

Amanda has a solemn look. "Nadja, we have to talk." 

"I don't like the sound of that." 

Inside, Nick speaks in a stern voice, "There isn't any record of you having a business partner named Raymond Constantini, or anyone else for that matter. Everything is in your name and your name only." 

"But, but, I don't understand." 

Amanda takes a deep breath. "Nadja, Nick is a private detective. His client is a company that made a number of fraudulent payments to companies that belong to you." 

"He had me sign some papers. He said they were standard boilerplate. Whoever actually reads such stuff?" 

Amanda asks in a soft voice, "Raymond Constantini, is he an Immortal?" 

"No, he's a mortal." 

Nick nods. "The address you gave me is bogus." 

"It can't be!" 

"Give us a break." 

"He just brings over paperwork from time to time. This must sound terrible." 

"It does." 

"How could he do this to me?" 

"Nadja, the police aren't going to believe this and neither do I." 

"It's the truth!" 

Amanda raises her hands. "Nick, you can wait 24 hours." 

"What for?" 

"Isn't there some kind of cop rule to give the suspects 24 hours to clear their name?" 

"Only in the movies, Amanda." 

"Nick, either you wait 24 hours or she will kill herself and you'll have a dead suspect whose body will get lost in the morgue." 

"All right, 24 hours, but she doesn't leave my sight." 

* * *

Nadja looks at mug shots on a laptop as Amanda reads through Nadja's contracts. Nick checks the paper trail of Nadja's companies. 

Nick shakes his head. "This isn't the first company that got victimized." 

Nadja looks confused. "Does that help?" 

"It helps to lock you away longer. Being an Immortal you'll actually live long enough to serve the full sentence." 

Amanda retorts in a singing voice, "Nick, you're not helping." 

Nick looks straight at Nadja. "There is a chance it can help but only if you're innocent." 

"I am." 

"We contact the other companies, get whatever information we can about their past employees and see if there is a match." 

"All right." 

"It's a gamble. It lets the other companies know they've been taken and so far you are the only suspect." 

"I'm sure you'll let these companies know about this anyway." 

Amanda is impressed with Nadja's unusual perception. "Subcontractors." 

"What, Amanda?" 

"Everyone suspects the bartender of raiding the cash register but no one suspects the piano player." 

Nick thinks for a moment. "Or the janitor." 

"Very good, Nick." 

* * *

It has been a long, boring night. A while ago Nick said he believed he was making some progress. Nick turns his laptop's screen towards Amanda and Nadja. "Nadja does this face look familiar to you?" 

There is a composite of a man's face on the screen. 

"That's Raymond!" 

"He was known as a janitor by four different names. Raymond Constantini wasn't one of them." 

"I'm in the clear." 

"Not quite. It proves he was in on it; it doesn't prove you are a victim." 

"You're telling me there isn't a way to prove my innocence." 

Amanda takes Nada's hand. "Nadja, we just have to be a bit imaginative." 

"All the imagination in the world won't do any good if we don't know where to find him." 

"That just takes a bit more imagination." 

Nick nods his head. "The money has to go somewhere." 

* * *

Amanda enters Nick's office where Nadja is still with him. He wasn't kidding about not letting her out of his sight. 

"Making any progress Nick?" 

"Yeah, some. It looks like Nadja got about ten percent of what our suspect embezzled." 

"Well I've made some progress too. You will have to give Nadja another 72 hours." 

"Why?" 

"Take a look." Amanda shows a photo of a man with two women. The man looks similar to the composite. 

"I did some asking around; he goes by André Ducatel. He's hosting a party the day after tomorrow." 

Nadja gets a hopeful look in her eyes. "You have a plan?" 

"Meet him and get him to confess." 

"That's not a plan." 

"Maybe not, but I've used it before. I have a way with men." 

Nadja turns to Nick, "That's what we all say." 

* * *

Amanda bluffs her way past the security. She is pleased a smile can still open doors for her. She spots André Ducatel, or whoever he is, with a woman with long black hair. Amanda waits for a while and when the woman steps away Amanda moves in. She walks around behind him. 

"Raymond Constantini?" He reflexively turns his head. Amanda smiles. "Don't worry, darling, your secret is safe with me. We have a mutual acquaintance." 

"Who?" His tone betrayed him further. 

"Francoise Leblanc, there is no sense in you playing coy; I work for her. Is there somewhere we can go to discuss business?" 

His eyes shift back and forth. 

"André, it would be a shame to trade this for a jail cell." 

"Come with me." He leads Amanda upstairs to a bedroom. "How much do you want?" 

"Right to the point, I like that. Three million." 

"What makes you think what you have is worth three million dollars?" 

"Francoise Leblanc is the sole owner of a bunch of companies that don't seem to do anything except collect checks from other companies. Almost all of the company's income goes to overhead which all seems to end up in your pocket. I'm sure the police can fill in the necessary details." 

"It'll take some time to get the money; I can't just write you a check." 

"Oh, I wouldn't take a check after all if you don't have any problem cheating Francoise Leblanc you won't have any qualms about cheating me." 

He flips a wall painting to one side, revealing a safe. He uses his body to obscure Amanda's view as he unlocks it. Amanda finds it amusing since she believes she could crack the combination quicker than he can dial it. He opens the safe and sticks in his hand. He turns around and throws two packages of money on the desk. "Here!" 

"I said three million; there is only about 20,000 here." 

"Just a down payment. Give me a number where I can contact you." 

Amanda takes a pen from the desk display, takes a pad and writes down a phone number. He taps the desk. 

"How would you like to earn that money?" 

"Why should I earn what I already have?" 

"Work for me for a year and I can guarantee you five million." 

"Five million. What would I have to do?" 

"Keep working for Francoise. Let me know if someone is getting suspicious." 

"You mean like an accountant or the police?" 

"Or anyone else." 

"Is that all?" 

"I might think of a way to expand my little operation. After all, I have to make up for what I am going to give you." 

"So I keep a look out in case Francoise starts catching wise and help you dupe her even more?" 

"You have a problem with this?" 

"No, I view this as a good learning experience." 

"Maybe you should pay me?" 

"I don't think so." 

"Whatever you do don't get too smart or greedy. That is a good way to have the police end up dissolving our little partnership." 

* * *

Amanda walks to Nick's SUV. Nick throws open the passenger door. Nadja is in the back seat. Amanda gets inside. 

"Did I get enough?" 

"Yeah, we got enough." 

Nadja has a hopeful tone in her voice, "Does that mean I'm off the hook?" 

Nick looks back. "Yeah, I think you're off the hook." 

* * *

**EPILOGUE**

Amanda and Nick sit in his office. They sense another Immortal, moments before the bell rings. Nick opens his door to find Nadja. She has on a simple dress and no jewelry. 

"Hello Nick, Amanda." 

Nick nods. "Hi come in." 

Amanda stops herself from asking Nadja how she's doing. 

Nadja turns around as if she's modeling her dress. "Easy come, easy go." 

Amanda stands. "You know you could have held out a little?" 

"Amanda, did anyone point out you have a larcenous streak?" 

"I think Nick did once or twice." 

"Now it's to find a job and remember to beware of Greeks bearing gifts." 

Amanda fumbles in her purse for a moment then takes out a card. "Here, Nadja, I'll call ahead." 

Nadja takes and looks at the card. "Thank you. Antiques, that seems appropriate since I am one." 

Nick smiles. "Just don't sell yourself short." 

"Thanks, Nick." 

Amanda smiles. "Now that you know where we are don't be a stranger." 

"I won't." 

THE END 

* * *

© 2006   
Please send comments to the author! 

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